The 100 Gbit/s problem in your network

Mon Feb 11 20:27:27 UTC 2013

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stephen Sprunk" <stephen at sprunk.org>

> Multicast _is_ useful for filling the millions of DVRs out there with
> broadcast programs and for live events (eg. sports). A smart VOD system
> would have my DVR download the entire program from a local cache--and
> then play it locally as with anything else I watch. Those caches could
> be populated by multicast as well, at least for popular content. The
> long tail would still require some level of unicast distribution, but
> that is _by definition_ a tiny fraction of total demand.

The problem with that, Steve, is that that is over the cold, dead bodies
of the program producers, and by extension, their transport agents; the...
I think we're calling it the Comcast decision -- the one that said that
centralized Big Ass DVRs didn't violate copyright law -- made them unhappy
enough about where the content was.

In the final analysis, program producers are simply going to have to 
get over themselves, and stop thinking they can charge people multiple
times for multiple formats and resolutions, frex.

The *minute* a legal multicast pre-charge facility becomes available,
I'm sure someone will write a module for MythTV, and that's a couple
million homes, right there.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       jra at baylink.com
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